Lead a Smoke free life for a healthy future!

Smoking is one of the most dangerous habits which, after a point of time, becomes an important part of our routine. Apart from the serious health consequences, smoking can severely affect your life. It can affect your breathing, causing coughing and can lead to shortness of breath. It increases the risk of respiratory tract infection, including asthma and bronchitis.

A recent study conducted by Cancer Research UK, for those who are not chain smokers and enjoy light smoking, have concluded that smoking just one cigarette a day can lead to the risk of developing coronary heart disease or having a stroke that’s associated with smoking 20 per day.

Statisticians say that this warning has been issued after a dedicated period of nearly 60 years’ worth of medical studies .They say that smoking only a couple of cigarettes each day could maximize the risk of a coronary heart disease and stroke. This news has come as a surprise for many smokers.

The group was interested to understand the harmful health risks posed by light smoking. The study was aimed to know the effects of light smoking on people who are not looking to stop smoking altogether. According to authors, many light smokers are of the assumption that having five or fewer cigarettes a day is not very harmful to one’s health.

Prior researches have shown that the risk of developing lung cancer is more or less linear: The risk of disease goes up proportionately as the number of cigarettes consumed goes up. The existing evidence on smoking and cardiovascular disease suggests that this relationship is more logarithmic. The risk jumps up significantly following any amount of smoking and then levels off. Despite the availability of such concrete results, the authors note that most of the general public and even medical professionals appear unaware of the dangers of light smoking.

To further substantiate their findings, the group analyzed the results from 141 prospective studies that followed the health outcomes of smokers of varying levels over long periods of time.

The authors also performed multiple calculations on men and women of various age and other influencing factors (such as blood pressure and history of diabetes). They discovered that the difference in risk for coronary heart disease was 53 percent in men and 38 percent in women and about 64 percent for men and 36 percent for women in case of a stroke.

Finally, the authors were able to conclude that no safe level of smoking exists for cardiovascular disease. Rather smokers should aim to quit instead of cutting down to significantly reduce their risk of these two common major disorders.

This study serves as a useful reference for medical professions and a strong incentive for waffling smokers who think that light smoking is safe for health. These results should not be misinterpreted and must not be used as an excuse to give in and start smoking a full pack.